Insights from Operation Tomodachi Bilateral Coordination Action Team (BCAT) – Sendai
COL Stephen Browne U.S. Army War College Fellow to Texas A&M University
1 (Source Photos: USARJ and JGSDF NEA Public Affairs) Agenda
• Overview of the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) and Tsunami Disaster
• Operation Tomodachi Timeline
• Joint Task Force–Tohoku and BCAT–Sendai Task Organization
• BCAT-S Mission and Bilateral Coordination flow Structure
• Key Lessons Learned
• Conclusion
2 Overview – Earthquake and Tsunami Earthquake • 11 MAR, 1446 - 9.0 earthquake along Japan coast 230 miles NE of Tokyo • 3,970 roads, Pacific Coast and JR Railways completely disrupted • Sea Ports, Roads, and Rail Closed • Affected coastline lowered up to 1 meter • 2011 - estimated Rebuild Cost: USD $309 Tsunami • Epicenter offshore 65 miles east of Sendai • Tsunami damage fare more severe than earthquake • Wave height varied; up to 115ft • Affected over 420 miles of coastline
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(Source: (1) USARJ CG Tomodachi Brief; (2) JTF-TH Brief to CODEL Levin/Webb/Inouye, CJCS, and LTG Wiercisnki;) Operational Timeline
01 1700 MAY - JFLCC repositioning complete & posture for future operations / support
26 APR- Begin JFLCC reposition OPs
08 APR- JLTF 10 established in Ishinomaki
07 APR- TOA between III MEF and USARJ; USARJ assumes JFLCC Operations
06 APR- LTF 35 moves to Ishinomaki Tomorrow Business Town
25 MAR- USARJ executes Voluntary Departure
21 MAR - LTF 35 deploys to Sendai Airport
15 MAR – Bilateral Coordination Action Team Stands Up – Sendai
14 MAR - III MEF designated as JFLCC. USARJ DAT integrates into JTF FWD Staff. JTF-FWD begins conducting operations in the Tohoku AO
14 MAR - USARJ DAT deploys to Camp Sendai
12 MAR - USFJ designated as JTF for US Forces in Japan 11 1500 MAR - USARJ CAT & DAT alerted…staff occupies CIC at Zama
11 1446 MAR 11 – 9.0 Earthquake and Tsunami 4
(Source: USARJ CG Operation Tomodachi Brief; NEA PAO Pictures) Joint Task Force Tohoku (JTF-TH)
Defense Minister US Forces
Joint BCAT- BCAT- CDR, JSF ICHIGAYA YOKOTA CRF Staff Commander, CG, USFJ JTF-TH CRF Comander Joint Operation (Response to CG, NEA GSDF Liaison Center COMPACFLT Nuclear Disaster) Ground Maritime Air JTH-TH HQ Component Component Component ・JFLCC （USARJ） NEA HQ JFLCC FWD CG, NEA Commandant Cdr, (+Reinforcing Staff) ・JFMCC Yokosuka Air Defense BCAT-SENDAI Other District Command ・JFACC (13th AF) Regional Armies Each Coordination 40 Aircraft Self-Defense Air Support Cells 600 personnel Fleet’s units Command ・Aviation ・Communication 1xDivision Air Training 1xLife Support Unit ・Transportation Be Prepared for Command ・Engineer Others O/O Missions ・JFLCC (USARJ) 800personnel Air Material Pref, City ・ Command HQ JFMCC (7th FLT) Coordination Cells ・JFACC (13th AF) ・IWATE Be Prepared for ・USMC (III MEF) 5 Divisions O/O Missions ・MIYAGI ・FUKUSHIMA 140 Aircrafts 4 Brigades 200 Aircraft 3 Engr Brigades ・ISHINOMAKI 15 vessels 50 Vessels 1 FA Brigade (Carrier, LHA) 14,000 240 Aircraft Maximum 1 ADA Brigade 24,000 Pax 70,000 personnel personnel 24,000 personnel scale 5 UNCLASSIFIED US – Japanese Bilateral Coordination
MOD
Internal Joint Staff BCAT BCAT Joint Support Ichigaya Yokota Bureau Office (JSO) Force (JSF)
JTF-TH JFLCC JFMCC JFACC JFSOCC
Joint Forces Joint Forces Joint Forces Maritime Air Special BCAT JFLCC Component Component Operation Command Command Component Sendai FWD Command
Joint Forces Land Component Command BCAT-S Mission • Coordinate/Integrate U.S. Force's HADR efforts JTF JTF JTF into the overall JTF-TH Operation. ACC MCC LCC • Ensure synchronization of operations to meet the needs of local authorities, prefectural governors, and the JTF-TH Commander. 6 (Source: JTF-TH Bilateral AAR (DEC 2011) BCAT Information Coordination Flow
Joint Staff Office US Forces Japan (Ichigaya) (Yokota)
④ ⑤ ⑦ ⑧
Agreement
CDR Decision CDR
DeliverOrder Report Results BCAT BCAT Ichigaya Yokota
Reporting Provide Guidance/Recommendations
④ Report ② Convey Needs BCATBCAT – Sendai-S Results
Joint Task ③ Conduct Feasibility ④ Report Results ⑤ CDR JFLCC Force assessment and site Decision survey (FWD) Tohoku ⑥ Bilateral Agreement ⑤ CDR Approval ⑦ Agreement 9 Execution
① Gain an understanding of ① Gain an the needs in the disaster area understanding of JSF – Tomodachi Civil the needs in the disaster area JFLCC JFMCC JFACC Authorities
Explanation ： BCAT (FWD) Confirmed ： BCAT (FWD) Unconfirmed 7 (Source: JTF-TH Bilateral AAR (DEC 2011) BCAT-S Key Lessons Learned • Relationships Matter! BCAT-S capitalized on existing partnerships – Bilateral/Multi-Lateral Exercises, KLEs, SLS, and SME Exchanges between US Forces Japan, U.S Army Japan (USARJ) and Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) – USARJ Liaison Officer (LNO) program to each of the GSDF Regional Armies
• Understanding of Culture and Mind-Set is Critical! Initial use of Political-Military Experts to facilitate coordination – 8 Military, 2 Civilian POL-MIL, DoS, USAID experts helped bridge the gap between language, culture, and thought process barriers – JSDF sent various officers from GSO and JSO that had previous experience working with U.S. Forces – Example: Requirements (U.S.) vs. Capabilities (JPN)
8 (Source: Multiple: JTF-TH Bilateral AAR (DEC 2011), Officer personal experience, JTF-TH internal AARs) BCAT-S Key Lessons Learned
• BCATs must be “Joint!” – Hindered Speed of Coordination – BCAT-S was heavy on US Army and US Marine Corps – Lack of US Navy and US Air Force personnel caused coordination delays – Example: JFLCC-FWD vs. JSF-Tomodachi FWD
• All warfighting functions must be represented! Hindered ability to understand requirements, lack of SMEs in the BCAT; prevented effective coordination – JSDF staffed the BCAT-S with Operations, Logistics, Engineer, Communications, and Public Affairs Personnel – US staffed largely with Foreign Area Officers and later some operations and logistics personnel; however they operated back and forth between JFLCC-FWD and BCAT-S
9 (Source: Multiple: JTF-TH Bilateral AAR (DEC 2011), Officer personal experience, JTF-TH internal AARs) US – Japanese Bilateral Coordination
MOD
Internal Bureau Joint Staff BCAT BCAT Joint Support Office (JSO) Ichigaya Yokota Force (JSF)
JTFJTF--THTH JFLCC JFMCC JFACC JFSOCC
Joint Forces Joint Forces Joint Forces Maritime Air Ｓｐｅｃｉａｌ BCAT JFLCC Component Component Operation CommandJSF - FWDCommand Compornent Sendai FWD Command
Joint Forces Land Component Command
JTF JTF JTF The BCAT-S and the JFLCC-FWD was not ACC MCC LCC “joint”—prevented transparency between U.S./JPN operation, hindered coordination, and prevented proper allocation of resources.
10 (Source: Multiple: JTF-TH Bilateral AAR (DEC 2011), Officer personal experience, JTF-TH internal AARs) Conclusion • JSDF established first ever JTF (~108,000 troops, 700 reserves) in response to the devastating Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami disaster
• Operating in a complex, multilateral, intergovernmental environment is not easy – must establish coordination structures and rehearse them
• Relationships matter & understanding of culture and mind-set is critical
• Support to complex disasters must be with a joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and multilateral mindset
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